Pumpkin Seeds...again

boxertrio · October 22, 2006, 06:56:16 PM

After a carvin marathon with the family, I have a whole lot of seeds left. I found an old post from Thunder Fish on roasting the seeds.

1/4 cp of curing salt
1 1/2 cp of seeds
3 pucks
210 degrees

I am guessing, toss the seeds with the salt and smoke on. Any additions or changes? I will probably add some jalapeño or cheyenne powder.

Thunder Fish · October 26, 2006, 02:15:34 PM

And this year I have all the seeds I want from a large pumkin patch come Nov 1st!mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..........take all the seeds and leave the rest please.I'm going with course(kosher) salt this year,might spice them also thanks
Will grab one for makeing pumkin soup out of ::)

Chez Bubba · October 31, 2006, 03:40:46 PM

Let's pretend there is a guy out there with high blood pressure & wants to cut down on his salt intake. ;)

Is there any reason the salt cannot be omitted or highly reduced? (Other spices added of course.)

Kirk

asa · October 31, 2006, 04:42:12 PM

What about the potassium salt substitute, Kirk. Wouldn't that work to give some of the salty flavor w/o the sodium load? Or lemon-pepper. That would be good too.

Chez Bubba · October 31, 2006, 05:44:48 PM

Have you ever tasted that stuff? It sucks!

I'm not a big lemon-pepper fan but that's the direction I'm going with the question. Is there anything that the salt contributes, other than flavor, that would make the end product unacceptable?

I'm thinking some melted unsalted butter, a wee bit of Worchestshire, ground rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper & cayenne.

Kirk

asa · October 31, 2006, 06:16:47 PM

Kirk -
I'm not a food scientist (just a wannabee) but I think that salt has been used for centuries as a flavor-enhancer, not just for the salty flavor itself. Lemon does have some similar characteristics in my experience - I add lemon juice to a lot of sauces and dishes to "brighten" the flavor (everything from turkey gravy to spaghetti sauce to Brunswick stew, even my BBQ sauce). You can't taste the lemon per se, but it sure does make things taste better.

I just checked our worchestershire sauce and it has 65mg of sodium per tsp, so you do have to be careful about prepared things. I did try the KCl at one point a year or so ago, then didn't get into using it much, and my wife threw it out. I thought I could figure out a way to work with it, but she rejected it because of the flavor. So I appreciate your opinion of the taste - it isn't a perfect substitute, but I'm wondering if and when I have to, if I couldn't figure out a way of using it to enhance flavors. Might try some experimentation and combination with other things. It seems to me we become used to certain tastes in life, and there are many other possibilities. I wish I could think of some other suggestions, but I can't offhand. Let us know how the seeds turn out.

Regards,
Art

Habanero Smoker · November 01, 2006, 03:36:42 AM

Quote from: Chez Bubba on October 31, 2006, 05:44:48 PM
Have you ever tasted that stuff? It sucks!

I'm not a big lemon-pepper fan but that's the direction I'm going with the question. Is there anything that the salt contributes, other than flavor, that would make the end product unacceptable?

I'm thinking some melted unsalted butter, a wee bit of Worcestershire, ground rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper & cayenne.

Kirk

Sound like you are getting close, making sure you use a wee bit of Worcestershire. A small amount of ginger helps enhance flavors. Also I learned a tip over the summer. When the recipe calls for cayenne add a pinch of cinnamon. If the recipe calls for cinnamon add a pinch of cayenne. It does seem to make a world of difference.

boxertrio · November 01, 2006, 02:06:11 PM

Well, I used sea salt and lots of jalapeneo powder.....turned out great. Took some with me when we went to the Rocky Horror Picture Show last night, the tranny sitting next to me though they were awesome ;D :o.

Chez Bubba · December 17, 2006, 09:28:39 AM

I thought I posted this a long time ago but apparently not. Here's what I did:

2 cups seeds
8 TBS unsalted butter
1 TBS each Worchestershire sauce, garlic powder, cayenne, ground rosemary
1/2 TBS each onion powder & ground cumin
1/4 TBS ground ginger
1/8 TBS ground cinnamon

Melt butter, add W-sauce, then spices. Pour over seeds & mix well. Arrange seeds in single layer on mesh screens on 2 Bradley racks. hot smoke on high for 1 1/2 hours. Cool.

They turned out freaking delicious! Unfortunately, I didn't get to consume too many. The bag I took to work got scarfed by anybody who walked by my desk and the ones I left here became Anne's new favorite salad topping.

Kirk